The present invention generally relates to fixtures for supporting shower curtains and, more particularly, to an anti-splash shower curtain support fixture.
A conventional bath tub typically has a rectangular box-like configuration with opposite ends and opposite front and rear sides interconnected with one another and upstanding on a flat bottom. The bath tub is ordinarily located at an end or in an alcove of a bathroom enclosed by three of the bathroom walls extending in a rectangular configuration relative to one another. The three bathroom walls encompass and extend along the opposite ends and rear side of the bath tub but leave the bath tub open for access along its front side. A shower nozzle is usually mounted from one of the opposing bathroom walls above a corresponding one of the opposite ends of the tub. When the shower is turned on, a spray of water is projected from the nozzle generally downwardly into the tub.
A shower curtain is typically hung by an elongated straight support fixture or rod mounted above and parallel to the front side of the bath tub. The purpose of the hanging shower curtain is to prevent the spray of water issued by the shower nozzle from deflecting and splashing from the user's body and the tub interior and bathroom walls surrounding the tub into the rest of the bathroom during use of the shower.
The shower curtain support rod typically extends between the oppositely facing pair of bathroom walls located along the opposite ends of the bath tub. The support rod conventionally is composed of two straight tubular sections which are telescoped together and internally spring loaded to move apart. The telescoped sections of the support rod are retracted toward each other against the spring loading to permit wedging of the support rod between and engagement at its opposite ends with the oppositely facing bathroom walls, the wedged support rod being located above and parallel to the front side of the bath tub.
A shower curtain hanging down into the bath tub from such conventional straight support rod will usually adequately block water from deflecting and splashing out of the tub along the length of the front side of the tub. However, gaps and spaces are left above the front opposite corners of the tub between the opposite ends of the shower curtain and the oppositely facing bathroom walls. During normal use of the shower, water can easily be deflected and splashed from the tub through these gaps and spaces. Thus, the shower curtain hanging from the conventional straight support rod does not provide a complete enough barrier for preventing water from reaching the bathroom floor and eventually producing deterioration of the floor covering and/or flooding of the room below the bathroom.
Consequently, a need exists for a shower curtain support fixture which will solve the above-cited problems left unresolved by a conventional straight shower curtain rod.